Conner Bleackley is selected twenty-third by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at the Wells Fargo Center on June 27, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

For your listening enjoyment, I have set this up so that one and all can listen to my interview, along with Rick Sadowski from NHL.com, with Avs chief scout Rick Pracey after Saturday’s NHL draft.

Pracey details all the picks and why he felt they were worthy choices in this nearly 15 minute audio file.

As discussed in a story here, the Avs have decided who they want as their top pick in Friday’s first round of the NHL draft – depending who the Oilers take at No. 1 that is – and most everyone seems to believe that will be Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

So who is No. 1 on the Avs’ list? Well, I’m still trying to find out for sure. But I’ve had more than one high-level hockey person tell me that it’ll be Jonathan Huberdeau, whom I profiled a couple days ago in a story here. I am only repeating what they’re telling me, and not “reporting” that’s who it will be.
And, YES, I have also heard from another high-level person that he thinks it’s Landeskog. So, it’s high drama!
I think there are a couple things that could change things – No. 1 being if Edmonton decides to go with someone other than RNH and No. 2 being if the Avs get a trade offer for the No. 2 pick that is too good to pass up.

Avalanche chief scout Rick Pracey held a conference call this morning with some schmuck reporters, and here is some of what he said about the top picks available:

On Nugent-Hopkins: “He’s a very talented offensive player. His skill set is probably his defining trait. He can make plays, he can score. He’s a creative player in terms of vision. He’s a player, going forward, who probably has transferrable offense at the NHL level.”

On Huberdeau: “He had a very, very strong season from start to finish. He seemed to gain a ton of momentum along the year. His team was very successful (won the Memorial Cup, Saint John of QMJHL) and he came to the forefront as a scorer on a consistent level. He also has size. He’s a good two-way player, he’s diligent away from the puck and he’s a player, in terms of projection, he’s on the upside where things are going to get better and better. It sort of started for him in the playoffs a year ago, and it continued on into this regular season and he had another great playoff run. He’s a very interesting prospect.”

On Gabriel Landeskog: “He’s a player who plays the game the way you’d expect all your players to play (great sentence). He plays with character, he competes, he has a skill set, he goes to the dirty areas of the rink. We think the couple of areas that are his calling card are compete and battle level. He’s a physical player in terms of confrontation. He initiates the contact, but he’s also a player who plays the full length of the ice. He’s diligent. There’s lots to like here in terms of his overall package. He plays the game at a high intensity level. Going forward, his character is something that is attractive not only to us but the whole industry.”

On Adam Larsson: “He’s another player of great interest of ours. He’s a defenseman who moves well and has experience playing at a higher league, in the Swedish Elite League the past two seasons. He can make plays, he is intelllgent with and without the puck. He has a competitive nature to him and he’s a player we’ve seen not only internationally, but our scouting staff went into the Swedish Elite League and so we’ve seen him amongst his peers and we’re very impressed. In terms of the qualities of an NHL defenseman, we think he possesses them. He’s another name that’s at the top of the board.”

Pracey didn’t get around to talking about Sean Couturier, but he’s expected to be in the top 5 maybe too.

So, can we decipher any clues from Pracey’s words? From the words on the page above, and from listening to him, it seemed like he perked up the most when talking about Huberdeau and Landeskog. He didn’t seem as excited, really, when talking about Nugent-Hopkins, but maybe that’s because he and everybody else already thinks he’s going No. 1 to the Oilers and, well, who cares about the guy then?

He certainly had a lot of good things to say about Larsson too. Word on the street, though, is that Larsson is leaning toward staying in Sweden to play next season, and maybe for two more. If he’s truly the best player available at the No. 2 pick, then I don’t think it would matter to the Avs if he won’t play right away in the NHL, because Pracey also talked a lot about how the science of drafting is projecting how they’ll be for the long term, and the hazards of making picks based on short-term needs. These guys are still only teenagers, let’s not forget.

So, while it would seem that Huberdeau and Landeskog are the guys at the forefront of the Avs’ list – with, again, Huberdeau the guy I’m hearing most often as the one they’d pick – the fact is only a select few people know for sure right now who that is, and, no, I can’t sit here and say I’m one of them – as I haven’t been asked to sit in on their draft room discussions as of yet.

If I read between the lines, though, it just seemed to me that Pracey talked a bit more enthusiastically about Huberdeau’s long-term upside than Landeskog and his better overall, top-to-bottom skill set. Then again, there is absolutely nothing in Pracey’s comments that would lead you to think they wouldn’t want Landeskog too.

Teams sometimes like to throw other teams off their scent by leaking names of who they’ll pick, only to go another route. The Avs could be doing that here. Basically, we have to sit and wait for the selection Friday night before we really know, most likely. I’ll be in St. Paul covering the draft, so keep your computer set to right here for instant updates and quotes from that top pick.

So who should they take, Avs enthusiasts? Please list your choice for their top pick here.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.